Roommate arrested in slaying

Police say victim had asked for a ride to work.

San Antonio police escort Anthony Johnson, 20, accused of fatally shooting his roommate Tuesday morning to an awaiting patrol car. The victim was shot to death after asking the suspect for a ride to work, police said.

Photo By SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

A San Antonio Police Department Crime Scene Unit enters the Hacienda del Sol Luxury Apartment Homes at 6710 Babcock Tuesday November 15, 2011 where a man opened fire with an AK-47 rifle killing another man. A 20-year-old man is in custody for the shooting. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Photo By SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus speaks with reporters Tuesday November 15, 2011 at the Hacienda del Sol Luxury Apartment Homes at 6710 Babcock where a man shot to death another man with an AK-47 rifle. A 20-year-old man is in custody for the shooting. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net

Police arrested a 20-year-old man in the fatal shooting of his roommate at a North Side apartment Tuesday morning after the victim asked the suspect for a ride to work.

Police Chief William McManus said the victim knocked on his roommate's bedroom door in a second-story apartment where the men lived in the 6700 block of Babcock Road about 8:30 a.m.

Ngande opened the door and stepped inside the room, McManus said. The roommate, Anthony Johnson, is accused of firing a shot from an AK-47 assault rifle, striking Ngande in the torso, according to a police report.

A third roommate, who was home at the time, jumped from a second-floor balcony at the Hacienda del Sol apartments and ran to a gas station at De Zavala and Babcock roads, where he called 911, according to the report. He was uninjured.

Police at the complex detained Johnson as he was walking down the stairs with his bags packed, McManus said. Ngande, found inside the apartment, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Johnson was charged with one count of murder with bail set at $100,000, according to magistrate records.

McManus wasn't sure how long the trio had lived in the apartment, or if there were other weapons inside. Other than as a response to asking for a ride to work, McManus said the motive remained unclear.

“It seems senseless,” he said. “Unfortunately, these are the types of crimes that police can't prevent.”